Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
Background and Organizational Context
The UNV Field Unit is mainly accountable for the mobilization and placement of UN Volunteers in UN Agencies, Funds, and Programmes focused on peace, development and humanitarian needs, covering Colombia. The UNV Field Unit represents and positions UNV in the country and brings UNV’s services and solutions closer to its partners from governments, UN entities, civil society and private sector.
Position Purpose
Reporting to the Portfolio Manager/Specialist, Regional Office, the Programme Specialist leads and manages the UNV Field Unit. She/he is responsible for effective strategic business development and intelligence, and relationship management leading to mobilization and placement of UN Volunteers, and identification of entry points for UNV’s support and showcasing the value added of volunteers and volunteerism based on UNV’s Strategic Framework.
She/he builds and nurtures relationships with government counterparts and other key stakeholders to ensure strong positioning of UNV and administrative/operational support to UN Volunteers. The Programme Specialist, UNV effectively coordinates with the Regional Office and HQ organizational units, on volunteer mobilization, and provision of substantive inputs and facilitation of corporate initiatives. The main responsibility of the Programme Specialist, UNV is to increase volunteer volume in the country through these partnerships, and advocate for integrating volunteerism as a cross-cutting means of implementation into the 2030 Agenda.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. UN Volunteer mobilization and Management
- Keep abreast of and analyse development challenges and priorities in the country to identify relevant entry points for UNV’s mobilization of volunteers;
- Build and strengthen relationships with UN partners in the country to ensure an understanding of UNV’s mandates, key offers and the added values that UN Volunteer assignments bring in support to the achievement of their respective mandates;
- Uphold the Field Unit’s position as regional and global leader in volunteer mobilization by continually enhancing service quality;
- Foster consistent growth and diversification in volunteer engagement, aligning UNV efforts with both the UN System’s initiatives and country’s national priorities;
- Oversee the Field Unit’s operations;
- Navigate the diverse client base and address the complexities of expanding operational and programmatic demands;
- Design and formulate the Field Unit’s mobilization strategy, aligning it with UNV’s global priorities tailored to local context;
- Manage and monitor the strategy’s implementation through a result-based management approach to assess effectiveness and make necessary adjustments;
- Maintain business intelligence on UN agencies, UN joint programmes, identifying specific entry points to diversify partnerships with the key results of increased volunteer assignments, including reporting on the forecast demand for UN Volunteers in the country;
- Identify volunteer placement opportunities and present UNV value proposition and volunteer categories with the objective of maximizing international and national volunteer presence, including collaboration in the preparation of descriptions of assignments, with partner agencies and other partners;
- Advise the Regional Office on critical and emerging issues, as well as coordinate and consolidate inputs relevant to the country for developing briefings and other strategic documents for senior management meetings and missions;
- Oversee the overall recruitment process of UN Volunteers and efficient volunteer management, bringing critical issues timely to the attention of the Regional Office and other relevant sections in the HQ;
- Ensure that incoming and outgoing UN Volunteers are adequately briefed and debriefed and extend personal support and guidance to UN Volunteers in the country;
- Work closely with UNDSS and provide support to the UN Designated Officials to ensure a detailed understanding among UN Volunteers on all security-related issues;
- Maintain close relationships with UN Volunteers serving in the country, monitoring their well-being and performance through routine online meetings, field visits to their duty stations and consultations with their supervisors and counterparts. Ensure that volunteers receive the necessary support to thrive in their roles and contribute effectively to their assigned entities;
- Ensure overall management and administrative support to UN Volunteers.
2. Advocacy, Partnership Building, and UNV Programme Integration
- Lead UNVs’ field efforts as the representative of the organization in the country, ensuring key results and delivery of the Strategic Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals;
- Establish, foster and maintain effective outreach and relationships, including the formalization of partnerships and other exchanges of confidence such as inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), Country Programme Document (CPD), as well as with government, UN agencies, NGOs, the private sector and other relevant development partners;
- Participate in priority fora, including inter-agency meetings and events, such as the UN Country Team (UNCT) meetings, Operations Management Team (OMT) meetings, UN thematic forces, UN-led assessments, Programme Management Team (PMT) meetings, post-conflict needs assessments, UNSDCF planning processes, relevant working groups, technical missions and funding appeals to identify opportunities for volunteerism and volunteer placement;
- Proactively identify and create opportunities for Special Programme Initiatives (SPIs). Lead the negotiation, design, and implementation of these initiatives, upholding the Field Unit’s commitment to innovation and client responsiveness;
- Ensure exemplary service in piloting and executing volunteer solutions within the UN System, responding effectively to the country’s rapidly evolving challenges in humanitarian aid, peace, and development;
- Analyze and research information on potential UNV donors, such as South-South and/or international cooperation agencies in the country. Initiate connections to encourage their engagement as emerging donors, leveraging opportunities through the SVF fund and the UNV Fully Funded mechanism;
- Establish, foster and maintain effective outreach and relationships with local civil society organizations throughout the country, prioritizing those focused on volunteerism, to contribute to community-led sustainable development in the country;
- Keep abreast of and analyze the multifaceted challenges faced by UN Entities in the country, which span humanitarian aid, peacebuilding, and sustainable development, to enable a higher-level engagement with stakeholders, government counterparts, and donors ensuring the continued success and relevance of UNV’s efforts in the country;
- Establish, foster and maintain effective outreach and partnerships with potential sourcing partners, at local and sub-national levels, including civil society organizations, research centers, NGOs, academia, etc, to ensure a diverse and representative pool of local talent and potential Volunteer candidates consistent with evolving client agency demand;
- Promote UNV as a strategic partner in advancing the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) and fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); Emphasize UNV’s role in leveraging community-based talent to effectively integrate diverse local perspectives and develop comprehensive solutions for addressing the multifaceted challenges facing the country; In close coordination with the Regional Office and the Communications Section at headquarters, prepare, disseminate and present country-specific promotional information on the mandate and work of UNV with relevant development partners and the media;
- Coordinate activities and plan events, in collaboration with other agencies, for annual, national and UN-recognized international celebrations, including the International Volunteer Day (IVD);
- Encourage and monitor serving UN Volunteers to embrace the ideals of volunteerism, act as advocates for volunteer action, and document their experiences in promoting volunteerism;
- Establish/strengthen national advocacy networks. Implement relevant, high-impact advocacy with key partners.
3. Management, Quality Assurance, Knowledge and Innovation
- Develop, manage and monitor the implementation of the Field Unit’s annual work plan, including management and reporting on UNV support funds and budget;
- Lead UNV’s presence in the country to ensure coordinated and effective delivery of services as well as enable a supportive and collaborative work environment;
- Ensure strategic use and implementation of all UN Volunteers categories as per prevailing relevant provisions under each scheme;
- Ensure comprehensive programme design and integration. Constantly monitor trends analysis for future informed and anticipatory decision-making; track achievement of strategic results, and effectively apply results-based management tools;
- Manage any UNV assigned personnel within the Field Unit, including supervision, performance assessment and capacity development;
- Ensure, as the senior UNV staff member in the country, that UNV Outposted personnel are incorporated into the UNDP security arrangements and UN security plan, facilitate the on-boarding of newly outposted personnel (including appropriate working facilities, asset custodial management, IDs, IT support, etc) in addition to duty of care, team-building support and regular information-sharing practices;
- Oversee workflows and ensure cross collaboration between Field Unit and Outposted teams.; Embrace UNV digitalization strategy and transformation and lead related processes in the Field Unit; Maintain coordination and collaboration with the UNV Team supporting serving volunteers in UN Missions in the country, as applicable;
- Ensure knowledge is documented, systematized and fed back into volunteer mobilization and evidence building on volunteerism for the SDGs, and actively contribute to knowledge networks, communities of practice, and digital knowledge platforms;
- Act as a peer-support resource for UNV Country Coordinators in the region as needed, facilitating the exchange of relevant information, best practices and lessons learned aimed at fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment that contributes to the success of the region.
Competencies
Core
Achieve Results:
- Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively:
- Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously
- Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility
- Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination
- Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner
- Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion
- Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
People Management
UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
System Thinking
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Negotiation and Influence
- Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations
Knowledge Generation
- Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need
Results-based Management
- Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
Partnerships Management
- Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP/UNV strategy and policies
Digital Awareness and Literacy
- Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skilfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed
Event planning and execution
- Ability to plan, manage and execute of public and private events to ensure that they support and amplify individual communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as UNV’s overall brand and mandate.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in social sciences, international development, project management, public/business administration or related fields is required or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- Minimum of 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant professional experience preferably in a humanitarian, development, peace and/or, related field;
- Experience in partnership management and/or inter-agency cooperation is essential;
- Experience in managing personnel, and team or project workplans, including remotely;
- Work experience with the United Nations is an asset;
- Previous experience in a civil society setting and/or as a volunteer with volunteer management and/or promotion of volunteerism is a distinct advantage;
- Experience using computers and office software packages (ERP, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.);
- Experience in handling of web-based management systems is highly desirable;
- Openness to embrace Digital Transformation and use of new technologies.
Languages:
- Fluency in English and Spanish;
- Proficiency in another official UN language is an asset.
Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
Disclaimer
- Only short-listed applicants will be contacted;
- The successful candidate will hold a UNDP letter of appointment;
- This post is for local recruitment only. It is open to citizens of Colombia.
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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